One thing to add, make sure when you are looking at your cash flow you set aside some for reserves for the inevitable capital improvements that will be required.  

From reading it looks like I can use the FMV at the time of conversion OR the purchase price plus the cost of improvements.  

If they get 3rd party financing (can be hard to do with MH), you could use that cash influx to purchase more Mobiles and do improvements to the land.  

"The steady improvement in [home] sales will support price appreciation...

I love Irving Park and Portage Park in the NW as well as places that you can find some values, but are improving rapidly.  

If I upgrade this building just slight, it will improve the tenants moral and longevity.

what if cousin moved in with grandmother and rent out cousins house then spend monies on grandmothers water heater ($1200) and furnace ($1500) +-  @Joe Smith Do you mean a boiler with baseboard  heat and not  a furnace with floor registers and hot air blowing out of them..... boiler has copper pipes everywhere and furnace has big galvanized boxes around it.  ??  

Currently I want to bring my knowledge to a whole new level and want to see if I can work for someone in the field so that I can improve and build upon my current foundation.

I intend to put my personal residence on the market, and the HELOC would allow me to make some carefully selected repairs/improvements to get a quick sale at a favorable price.  

The lenders wants the seller to put into an escrow account 12 months of rent and a guarantee that the seller will pay the lease improvement and the lease commissions.